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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. court — of a king
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ball — a great time
  15. kick — in football
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. court — of law
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. court — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com